Production Assistant
Salary

Production Assistants in the United States can expect to earn an average of $13.63 per hour. Geography is the biggest factor affecting pay for this group, followed by career length. More than half of Production Assistants (63 percent) survey participants are women. Most Production Assistants report high levels of job satisfaction. Some workers in this field — approximately one in three — are not awarded benefits. Medical coverage is reported by a majority and dental plans are enjoyed by roughly one-half. The data for this snapshot was collected from individuals who took PayScale's salary survey.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

Job Description for Production Assistant

A production assistant performs many of the behind-the-scenes tasks essential in the creation and editing of content and footage. A production assistant handles the necessary administrative duties of the production process. First and foremost, they aid producers and directors in developing the nature of the content to be created. Next, they procure any personnel or equipment that would be necessary for production.

In many ongoing television productions, a production assistant is responsible for researching which guests to bring on the show, booking guests, and determining the direction that guest interactions would take. The production assistant also work with television guests to make sure they are adequately prepared for the production. Other administrative duties include printing out and distributing scripts, recording network notes, checking production schedules, and fact checking. The production assistant also ensures that content is adequately delivered to editing professionals. After the production is complete, the production assistant adds the work to the studio's production library and vault. Additionally, the production assistant is responsible for maintaining and organizing the production libraries and vaults.

Many production assistants hold a bachelor's degree and several years of experience in production. Due to the attention to detail that is necessary in this position, many production assistants have excellent editing skills, as well as strong interpersonal skills to effectively work with both producers and guests.

Production Assistant Tasks

Edit files when production teams cannot.

Answer phones and other communication, update files and enter data.

Manage digital images, video and metadata for production team, including archiving and syncing.

Common Career Paths for Production Assistant

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Production Assistants who advance into the role of a Manufacturing Production Manager are fairly uncommon. Manufacturing Production Managers on average earn $62K per year. The most common next step for a Production Assistant is to become a TV & Cable Broadcast Producer-Director or a Video Editor. The former position pays an additional $14K per year on average, and the latter position pays $9K more per year.

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Popular Skills for Production Assistant

This chart shows the most popular skills for this job and what effect each skill has on pay.

Survey participants wield an impressively varied skill set on the job. Most notably, skills in Production Support, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Outlook, and Adobe InDesign are correlated to pay that is above average, with boosts between 12 percent and 15 percent. Skills that seem to negatively impact pay include Apple Final Cut Pro. Most people skilled in Microsoft Excel are similarly competent in Organizing.

Pay by Experience Level for Production Assistant

Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.

Production Assistants do not generally earn higher incomes from more experience in the field. Folks with fewer than five years of experience take home $32K on average, and those who have worked for five to 10 years see a bigger median salary of $33K. The average pay reported by folks with 10 to 20 years of experience is around $34K. After two decades in the workforce, the average Production Assistant generally earns more than ever; median pay for this group is estimated at $40K.

Pay Difference by Location

Stamford is home to an above-average pay rate for Production Assistants, 38 percent higher than the national average. Production Assistants can also look forward to large paychecks in cities like San Francisco (+24 percent), New York (+9 percent), Denver (+6 percent), and Los Angeles (+4 percent). Houston is home to the smallest salaries in the field, lagging the national average by 10 percent. A couple other locations with smaller-than-average paychecks include St. Louis (10 percent lower) and Las Vegas (7 percent lower).